Joan Hotchkis

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Joan Hotchkis
Joan-hotchkis-trailer.jpg
Hotchkis in trailer for the film Breezy (1973)
Born (1927-09-21) September 21, 1927 (age 93)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor, writer, performance artist
Years active1950s -1997

Joan Hotchkis (born September 21, 1927) is an American stage, screen and television actress, writer and performance artist. A lifetime member of the Actors Studio[1] and the Dramatists Guild, Hotchkis is best known for playing Dr. Nancy Cunningham for several seasons on The Odd Couple, for co-writing with Eric Morris the seminal acting manual "No Acting Please" (1977),[2] which is still used in colleges and conservatories.,[3][4][5] and for her groundbreaking performance art works in the 1990s.

Career[]

From the 1950s through the 1990s, Hotchkis played many roles in television, film and theater (summer stock and Broadway). She was featured in Broadway productions of It's a Bird It's a Plane It's Superman (Philadelphia previews), Advise and Consent" and Write Me A Murde" before playing Myra on the soap opera The Secret Storm for several years in the early 1960s. In 1967, she moved back to Los Angeles and worked steadily in television through the 1970s. Most notably, Hotchkis played Dr. Nancy Cunningham, sometime girlfriend of Oscar Madison on the television version of The Odd Couple; Ellen in the Emmy-winning series My World and Welcome to It; and co-starred on L.A.T.E.R. (1980).

Scene from The Odd Couple with (from left): Hotchkis and fellow actors Fred Beir, Jack Klugman, and Janis Hansen.

Hotchkis also made many guest appearances on TV shows such as Bewitched, St. Elsewhere, Lou Grant, Charlie's Angels, Mannix, Marcus Welby, Barnaby Jones and more. On the big screen, she co-starred as Mama Hartley in the feature film Ode to Billy Joe (1976).

Hotchkis began writing original material in the 70s, beginning with a one-woman play, Legacy" depicting an upper-class housewife having a mental and emotional breakdown. Eric Morris directed the play on stage; director Karen Arthur saw the play and approached Hotchkis proposing to make a film version, with Arthur as director and Hotchkis as writer, producer and star. The resulting film, Legacy (1975), won Best Newcomer at the Tehran Film Festival.

In the early 1980s, Hotchkis returned to the stage, performing for several years in regional theaters such as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Milwaukee Repertory Theater before returning home to star in The Glass Menagerie at Los Angeles Theater Center and do occasional television roles.

Tearsheets Productions[]

Beginning in the late 1980s, Hotchkis resumed writing original material, this time moving beyond legitimate theater into the performance art world. She founded the Santa Monica-based Tearsheets Productions.[6] and wrote, produced and performed two solo performance pieces.[7] The first, Tearsheets: Rude Tales from the Ranch,[8][9] toured the United States in the early 1990s [10][11] and went abroad to the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe,[12] where it was the only U.S. production to win a Fringe First Award.[13] Her second solo work was Elements of Flesh: Or Screwing Saved My Ass (1996), about aging and sexuality.[14][15][16]

Personal life[]

Hotchkis was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in San Marino. She graduated from Smith College in 1949, got a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street Teacher's College in 1951, and taught nursery school in New York City for a short time before finally yielding to her lifelong desire to become an actress. Staying in New York to pursue her career, she met director Robert Foster on a live commercial in 1958; they married and had a daughter, Paula, in 1962. In 1967, they divorced and Hotchkis moved with Paula back to Los Angeles where she was getting many TV offers and where she had family. She never remarried, but maintained a good co-parenting relationship with Foster.

Hotchkis' lifelong interest in psychology led her to eventually become a part-time paraprofessional in aggression training at the Institute of Group Psychotherapy (mentored by George Bach), and her interest in politics led her to be increasingly active in political organizations and social justice nonprofits, such as The Liberty Hill Foundation.

Now retired, Hotchkis enjoys a quiet life in Los Angeles.

Filmography[]

Year Title Role Notes
1971 The Late Liz Sally Pearson
1973 Breezy Paula Harmon
1975 Bissie Hapgood
1976 Ode to Billy Joe Anna 'Mama' Hartley
1979 Old Boyfriends Pamela Shaw
1984 The Last Game Cory's Mother

References[]

  1. ^ Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 278. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
  2. ^ Complete results for "No Acting Please" in year 1977. WorldCat. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  3. ^ Elston, Ken (Approved 2012-09-19). George Mason University Course Approval Form. George Mason University College of Visual and Performing Arts; retrieved 2012-12-13 (Scroll to "Professional Perspectives on Performance: Recommended Reading").
  4. ^ Heinlein, Kurt Gerard; Parker, Stacy Parker (2009, 2012). Missouri State Theatre & Dance: BFA in Acting Program Guidelines; retrieved 2012-12-13 (Scroll to "Additional Information and Resources: 13. Publications for the Actor').
  5. ^ St. Clair, Charles (Spring 2011). 'Acting for the Camera' Course Guide. The New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University; retrieved 2012-12-13 (Scroll to "Suggested Reading" on page 3).
  6. ^ "Tearsheets Productions". Archived from the original on 2010-11-01. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
  7. ^ Curtis, Cathy (1996-10-18). "Acting Her Age; It Took Joan Hotchkis Years to Come to Terms With the 'Elements' of Her Life--but She Did It". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  8. ^ McCulloh, T. H. (1990-11-16). "Shadow of a Gunman' Pulls Irish Trick; 'Going On' Gives Glimpse of Backstage; 'Tearsheets' Zeroes in on Family Revelations". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2021-05-02. Retrieved 2021-05-02.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ Churnin, Nancy (1991-10-17). "Women's Family Secrets Go Public in 'Tearsheets'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  10. ^ "East Coast Premiere". Schenectady Daily Gazette. 1991-06-28. p. C1. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  11. ^ "Main Events". Austin American-Statesman. 1992-02-08. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  12. ^ Epstein, Robert (1992-07-09). "Letters to the Past: Exploring Relationships of a California Dynasty". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  13. ^ "Odd Couple's Joan Hotchkis in the Flesh in CA". Playbill. 1997-02-27. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  14. ^ Haithman, Diane (1996-05-09). "Just Wait Until Sen. Jesse Helms Hears This One". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  15. ^ Foley, F. Kathleen (1996-05-10). "'Elements of Flesh' Dares to Be Sensuous". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  16. ^ "Aging and Sexuality Just Might Be Compatible, After All". Los Angeles Times. 1997-02-12. Retrieved 2012-12-13.

External links[]

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